Blessing of the Pets takes place in Aspinwall

Praise the Lord and pass the puppies.

The Rev. Scott Hill of Aspinwall Presbyterian Church gathered outside the church along Center Avenue with more than a dozen people and their animals July 22 for the annual Blessing of the Pets service.

Various breeds of dogs — and even some compost worms — were imbued with the power of prayer. No cats or other animals were at the service. At previous Aspinwall pet blessings, there were guinea pigs, rabbits, horses and a prehensile-tailed skink, which is a reptile.

“We thank you for the beauty and diversity of this world,” Hill said during his prayer. “We rejoice in all we get from other animals, and ask you to lead us to live together in peace and respect and love. We pray that you will show us how to treat other creatures well — even the slugs and mosquitoes and others we may not care for.”

Hill was assisted by parishioner Steven Kochanowski. They read scriptures and also poems by Ogden Nash. The reverend then met with each pet and their owners.

Aspinwall residents Monica Cooney and her daughter, Claire, 7, brought their 11-year-old Vizsla, Colby, to the service.

“We live two doors down from the church,” Cooney said. “Pastor Scott is always such a great neighbor to everyone who lives in Aspinwall. Whenever we found out about the event, we thought we really wanted to come. We’ve missed it in previous years. We’re glad we were able to attend this year.”

They prayed for Colby to have long life and get along well with other dogs.

“All the prayers can help for her health as she continues to get older,” Cooney said. “Any extra blessing for her is great to have.”

Claire said she loved being around the other dogs and enjoyed the service.

Tanner Frye, 5, of O’Hara brought his compost worms to be blessed. His family uses the worms to improve soil for various plants.

“We are members here at the church and have been here for two years,” said Tanner’s mother, Cree Frye. “This is the service that brought us to the church. This is a special service, and right now these are our pets. We love our worms. They turn our food into soil that we can use instead of going into the landfill.”

Though pet blessings traditionally occur in October in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, whose feast day is Oct. 4, the timing didn’t fit well into the church’s calendar.

Hill said he was pleased with the turnout.

“We do it to celebrate creation, celebrate the goodness of the world God made and we get to be in,” Hill said. “The other reason is that people have animals that are important to them.”

The pet service also is a good time to interact with the community.

“We have a lot of neighbors whose pets are important to them,” Hill said. “Some of them may not be comfortable coming to church, but they’ll come to this. It’s a chance for us to bring some spirituality in their life as well.”